Identity and Activism: Marjane Satrapi and Karen Brodkin

Saw the movie Persepolis today with some friends. The film is animated, primarily black and white, and has subtitles, but it's uncanny how easy one gets lost in the narrative. Persepolis is the story of Marjane Satrapi, a young girl who grows up in war-torn Iran during the Iranian Revolution (1978-82) and becomes an empowered woman right before our eyes.

The main characters in Persepolis are highly developed and idiosyncratic. An example of this development is Marjane's grandmother--sitting with her on the sofa in the poster above--whose class, sass, and wisdom is marvelously true-to-life and often humorous in the process. The dialogue too is warm, natural, and riveting. It moves Marjane's growth and maturation along, while also highlighting the multi-faceted experiences of war, tragedy, and human empowerment throughout. Persepolis underscores the force of narrative, which--shaping and empowering the mind and spirit--compels individuals, whole families, and communities to struggle to eliminate unjust practices taking place in the world. Often chaotic, this internal and external world influences the outgrowth of one's identity just as much as the narratives one is exposed to. Adapted from a graphic novel, Marjane's Persepolis is a must see.

The Power of Narrative in Los Angeles

The role that narrative plays on shaping a person's identity and their subsequent activism in political arenas was a recurring theme throughout the day. Earlier I attended a book talk with UCLA Anthropology Professor, Karen Brodkin, who introduced her book, Making Democracy Matter, and discussed some of the interviews she had with local activists working as organizers in LA's labor and immigrant rights world.

The event was titled, "What Makes a Social Movement a Movement?: Identity and Activism in Los Angeles". One of the major issues Brodkin highlighted is the role of activists in bearing witness of right and wrongdoing through action and also storytelling. Brodkin also believes that activists provide alternative interpretations of the typical and modern and therefore remake it. The power of their narrative is how they connect non-activists to activists by demystifying various lived realities and--because they have a foot in various worlds--are capable of bridging different and complex worlds.